and a few other things that i cant think of, still have to order more parts and upgrades but hopefully driving in a few weeks:D

TDavis

05-17-2013 09:47 PM

Isn't there nothing special about a 30th besides some embroidery and extra badges?

First thing I'd do is clean the engine bay, thats disgusting.

bricooper78

05-17-2013 09:48 PM

It's the 30th year of the Grand Am... so it's special, but no they didn't have any performance advantage,

but it's a good find man, congrats!

_HeC_

05-17-2013 09:50 PM

ya just some badges/embroidery and hood/spoiler then the rest the same as any other GT i believe

the car came from a small town with some dirt roads etc so thats why its so dusty under there

*EDIT* exhaust is different on the 30th aswell

blckgagt

05-17-2013 10:02 PM

Yeah I believe the 30th Anniversary came with Borla exhaust tips.

[ChaosweaveR]

05-17-2013 10:54 PM

That's clean for what it is.

Good luck with the project, GAs are becoming few and far between around here.

_HeC_

05-19-2013 05:33 PM

ya for what it is im not complaining, some spots need attention as there's a couple tiny rust spots and some clear coat peeling but for what i paid and the low kms(85 miles) its a damn good shell in my eyes lol

spent some time this weekend cleaning parts and 2 cans of degreaser later my LX9 and getrag are clean! 1 can of degreaser left for the engine/bay before the pull to make things a bit cleaner. Im gonna bring it in for emissions this week before i **** with it then im off to Cuba for vacation, but after i get back expect a LOT of updates as my original build deadline was May 2-4 weekend but that fell to **** as i couldt find a good shell :(

if only i could of found a shell during the winter months then i could be wrenching on my jimmy right now, i have a solid axle sitting in the garage to swap under the front of that bitch:cheers:

im thinking about dropping and putting rims on it and enjoying it until my summer shutdown at work then tackle the LX9 and 5spd swap with my time off(june28-july15)

[ChaosweaveR]

05-22-2013 07:20 PM

What wheels do you have in mind?

These cars need an aggressive offset to really look good with a drop.

_HeC_

05-22-2013 08:11 PM

haven't really decided on a rim yet, i have some 18" Konigs from my old GA that i might toss back on but if i do ill either keep the center cap and chrome things off or vinyl wrap the chrome in black/gunmetal color OR i think i have some CF from a old project and i might wrap them, just gotta get some fresh resin
dont mind the 4x4 stance out back, stock springs were still in ithttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...MDUxLmpwZw.jpg
look pretty decent with no cap/chrome IMO, would just need to find a small center cap and some nicer lug nuts if i go this routehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psb1e0186e.jpg

sleepyalero

05-22-2013 08:26 PM

they're okay, i was never a fan of the bolts going around the wheel though.

_HeC_

05-22-2013 08:41 PM

^same here but i got them for a great price with almost new rubber at the time lol been debating on ordering some mustang replica cobra rims in a black/polished lip, pretty sure id only need a small spacer in the rear to run them

Hanauer51

05-22-2013 11:07 PM

congrats on finding a decent shell, yeah they're really getting hard to find even in "ok" condition. Really excited to see where this project goes. Good luck dude.

[ChaosweaveR]

05-22-2013 11:16 PM

Ugh, please don't use such ugly wheels.

TDavis

05-22-2013 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [ChaosweaveR]
(Post 1215487)

Ugh, please don't use such ugly wheels.

:applause:

_HeC_

05-23-2013 12:04 AM

Lol like I said not sure what I'm gonna run yet, there sitting in the garage and my chrometecs or whatever there called won't clear the vette calipers so they might be a tempoary solution

Any suggestions on a rim? Nothing crazy expensive as it is just a grand am, I prefer a thick 5-6 spoke over multispoke rims

TDavis

05-23-2013 12:06 AM

Bonneville GXP wheels

[ChaosweaveR]

05-23-2013 12:11 AM

Gotta pay to play. Start saving.

Hanauer51

05-23-2013 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _HeC_
(Post 1215509)

Lol like I said not sure what I'm gonna run yet, there sitting in the garage and my chrometecs or whatever there called won't clear the vette calipers so they might be a tempoary solution

Any suggestions on a rim? Nothing crazy expensive as it is just a grand am, I prefer a thick 5-6 spoke over multispoke rims

Check out my thread on American Eagle alloys 077's they're 18" unfortunately they don't make this exact style anymore.. so you'd have to do some scoring on here, craigslist, or ebay. They pop up every now and them, I got mine from a former member, not in the best of shape, all they need is a little TLC

lol winter tires for us Canadians ;) and those should be off soon seeing as i have these sitting in the back of my truckhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psad2b676c.jpg
found me some Eagles!! 18x8 with a +38 offset sadly the guy sandblasted them so i doubt im gonna put the effort in to shine them back up again, probably going to go a gunmetal color

bricooper78

06-04-2013 05:17 PM

That's not all bad, it's almost like starting with brand new rims! Nice pickup!

_HeC_

06-06-2013 07:29 PM

ya i guess, just need to decide what i want to do with them! ive been thinking about polishing the front of the spokes and the tiny lip then painting the rest gunmetal or black or just spraying the whole thing a solid color

They look too good polished to have them any other color in my opinion. Just plasti-dip different colors until you find which one you like best.

[ChaosweaveR]

06-06-2013 07:40 PM

Black car + bronze wheels = win.

What's the offset on those? Get rid of the junky Goodyears on there.

_HeC_

06-06-2013 07:46 PM

plastidip might be a option but id probably drive to the states to grab some as its $20/can here in Canada :( lol

offset is +38 and those tires have to come off, i really dont think a 245/45/18 will clear with the drop, and bronze could look good but i was planning on painting engine, trans, calipers and a few other things a gunmetal and black combination.... decisions

tipnitty

06-06-2013 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _HeC_
(Post 1216881)

plastidip might be a option but id probably drive to the states to grab some as its $20/can here in Canada :( lol

offset is +38 and those tires have to come off, i really dont think a 245/45/18 will clear with the drop, and bronze could look good but i was planning on painting engine, trans, calipers and a few other things a gunmetal and black combination.... decisions

Order that **** online. I think bronze would look good in a mesh style wheel, but not in a spoke. Maybe a dark bronze, definitely not bright colored IMO

TDavis

06-06-2013 07:52 PM

gunmetal grey

_HeC_

06-06-2013 07:53 PM

ive tried but you cant ship chemicals across the border and Canadian vendors online charge $15 i think

a buddy is going down in a few weeks to grab some stuff and i believe Lowes sells it for $5/can so might toss him some cash to bring me some back

[ChaosweaveR]

06-06-2013 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _HeC_
(Post 1216881)

plastidip might be a option but id probably drive to the states to grab some as its $20/can here in Canada :( lol

offset is +38 and those tires have to come off, i really dont think a 245/45/18 will clear with the drop, and bronze could look good but i was planning on painting engine, trans, calipers and a few other things a gunmetal and black combination.... decisions

Did you buy those from a GP owner?

_HeC_

06-06-2013 08:46 PM

no a owner of a 79 TA who thought they would fit lol but i believe he did say he bought them from a GP owner originally

[ChaosweaveR]

06-06-2013 11:19 PM

Yeah, 245/45 R18 is what GPs use.

AaronGTR

06-07-2013 08:01 AM

Yeah, you need a 245/40-18.

I think those would look great in bronze or gold. Would look similar to volks and other mag style wheels in those colors, and those colors go great and black or white cars.

_HeC_

06-09-2013 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronGTR
(Post 1216914)

Yeah, you need a 245/40-18

245/40s fit? i was gonna go with some 235/40/18s again but if 245/40/18 should clear ill probably get some of those